‘Pachinko’ Showrunner on Creating a New Backstory for the Original Novel’s Most Mysterious Character
variety.comWilson Chapman editorSPOILER ALERT:Do not read if you haven’t watched Episode 7 of “Pachinko,” now streaming on Apple TV+Every episode of “Pachinko” tells two different stories.
The Apple TV+ epic examines the history of Zainichi, ethnic Korean inhabitants of Japan, through the lens of Sunja, a fish merchant born in Korea during Japanese colonial rule of the country who is forced to immigrate to Japan after becoming pregnant out of wedlock.
The original novel by Min Jin Lee traces Sunja’s life chronologically, split into three linear parts. But in adapting that story to television, showrunner and executive producer Soo Hugh chose to blow up that structure and instead follow two different timelines: one in the 1920s when Sunja is a young woman played by Min-ha Kim, and one set in 1989, when Sunja is an elderly woman played by Yuh-jung Youn.
Every episode crisscrosses between these time periods, mostly keeping to the text of the original novel while telling the story in a completely different way.
Read more on variety.com